Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha Re-Arrested Hours After Supreme Court Suspends 17-Year Sentence
Author: Aamnah Fatima Khan
September 22, 2026
HRRC strongly condemns the re-arrest of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha immediately after the Supreme Court granted them bail. Such repeated arrests undermine judicial authority, due process and the fundamental right to liberty.
![Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Chatta [Image Credit: Imaan Mazari’s X account]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f05ed1_4aa9bb650ffc46ceb6edd0d8e6fcdf6c~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_230,w_506,h_587/fill/w_506,h_587,al_c,q_80,enc_auto/f05ed1_4aa9bb650ffc46ceb6edd0d8e6fcdf6c~mv2.jpg)
Pakistani Human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, have been re-arrested after the Supreme Court (the highest court in Pakistan) suspended their 17-year sentences in a cybercrime case.
The two lawyers were arrested in January 2026 and convicted under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). Prosecutors accused Imaan Mazari of publishing social-media posts that supported narratives associated with banned groups and blamed security forces for enforced disappearances in two provinces, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Hadi was arrested for reposting her content. Both denied wrongdoing, stating they were being punished for advocating for victims of enforced disappearances.
On 17th September 2026, a two-judge Supreme Court bench suspended their convictions and granted each bail against a Rs 200,000 (USD 723.17) surety bond while their appeals remain pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The High Court had repeatedly delayed deciding whether to suspend their sentences while their appeals were pending.
Before their release paperwork was completed, Islamabad police re-arrested the couple from Adiala Jail in another case registered at Kohsar Police Station in March 2025. They were accused of chanting anti-government slogans, blocking roads, disturbing public officials and taking part in an unlawful protest. The original police report did not include charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Police sought 30 days of physical remand, but an Islamabad anti-terrorism court rejected the request, noting that no weapon had been attributed to either accused. It instead ordered 14 days of judicial custody and directed their presence again on October 1, 2026.
The Islamabad Bar Association (IBA), a leading body of lawyers, announced a court boycott, arguing that the re-arrest undermined the Supreme Court’s order, fundamental rights and judicial independence. Human rights advocates describe the episode as part of an arrest-bail-rearrest pattern used to prolong detention.
Glossary
Accused – a person or people who may be guilty of a crime and who are being judged in a court of law.
Appeal – a request to the public for money, information, or help.
Attributed – a quality or characteristic that someone or something has.
Bail – If someone accused of a crime is bailed, they are released until their trial after paying bail to the court.
Boycott – to refuse to buy a product or take part in an activity as a way of expressing strong disapproval.
Convicted – having officially been found guilty of a crime in a law court.
Custody – the legal right or duty to care for someone or something, especially a child after its parents have separated or died.
Cybercrime – crime or illegal activity that is done using the internet.
Detention – the act of officially detaining someone.
Due process – a citizen's fair treatment within the rules of a government's legal system.
Enforced disappearances – As the name suggests, enforced disappearance is the act of making someone disappear against their will, often suddenly. It therefore refers to the arrest, detention or abduction of a person, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the fate of that person.
Judicial independence – the ability of courts and judges to perform their duties free of influence or control by other actors, whether governmental or private.
Pending – about to happen or waiting to happen.
Prolong – to make something last a longer time.
Prosecutors – a legal official who accuses someone of committing a crime, especially in a law court.
Provinces – one of the areas that a country or empire is divided into as part of the organization of its government, which sometimes has some control over its own laws.
Remand – to send someone accused of committing a crime away from court until their trial begins.
Surety Bonds – In Pakistan, a surety bond is a legal agreement in which a third party (surety) guarantees to the court that the accused will comply with all bail conditions and appear for hearings as required. This financial guarantee serves as an assurance that the accused will not violate bail conditions
Suspended – to stop something from being active, either temporarily or permanently.
Undermine – to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually.
Unlawful – not allowed by law.
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